At INFOM, as a continuing event from last year, we held a special event called "Walking Therapy Roads ® with a Doctor" from October 2013 to January 2014. It was subsidized by the Green and Water fund which is under the auspices of the National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization.

The event was held at 10 locations that were selected from a total of 53 existing Forest Therapy Bases nationwide. Eight of these locations have opened a PR page on the INFOM website in order to make themselves internationally known. They are : Yusuhara Town , Kochi Prefecture; Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture ; Ueno Village, Gunma Prefecture; Yamanouchi Town, Nagano Prefecture ; Agematsu Town, Nagano Prefecture ; Chizu Town, Tottori Prefecture ; Iinan Town, Shimane Prefecture and Kitago Town, Miyazaki Prefecture and two more are scheduled to open a PR page(these are: Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture and Aya Town, Miyazaki Prefecture). Including the kick-off event, a total of 11 events were held.

A total of 128 people aged from 9 to 89 participated in the events. According to the questionnaire survey, a very high figure of 98% of the participants reported being either “satisfied”or "very satisfied" with the doctors'treatment. Some of the doctors perceived reductions in stress among participants, as participants’readings of amylase (present in saliva) measured after the events were lower than those measured before the events.

Many reports of these events at each base were covered by media, i.e. TV,radio, the press and magazines.

In response to requests not only from each base but participants as well, we will be holding the “Walking Forest Therapy Roads ® with a Doctor”
event next year (in 2014) as well.